Minor Figures is shaking up the alt-milk market with a unique new flavour of its Australian-made oat milk.
Minor Figures is a brand that’s always gone against the grain. With its idiosyncratic branding and tongue-in-cheek social presence, it’s carved out a niche in what is a very crowded alt-milk market. And now it’s taking its individualism a step further by introducing a new, never-seen-before flavour to its Aussie collection.
Cheeky Oat is designed to deliver the cinnamon sweetness and choux pastry luxe of Spain’s favourite dessert export: churros.
“We like to turn up in a unique and fun way. Just bringing out a standard flavoured milk isn’t very ‘Minor Figures’,” says Henry Catts, Minor Figures General Manager APAC.
“Therefore, if we were going to do a flavoured milk it meant breaking away from the standard profile of chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla.”
With Barista Oat, Everyday Oat, and Organic Oat products in its range, the team at Minor Figures wanted to continue its growth in the Australian market and remain relevant with a new product that would appeal to the adventurous tastes of Millennials and Gen Z.
With the rise of signature drinks and customisable iced coffees, Henry and team knew flavour was going to be the driver of their new creation. For inspiration, they looked to the innovative coffee shops and cafés that would be using the product.
“We like to do things a little out of the box. We started exploring our link to coffee and the café scene and threw around ideas until we found one that stuck,” Henry says.
“Every product you bring out must be able to work on its own, but Churros ticked all the boxes because it’s also a great partner to coffee. The flavours of toasty cinnamon and crisp pastry encapsulate those indulgent notes many consumers are looking for.”
Cheeky Oat Churros has been developed to pair with a wide variety of coffees, from intense dark-roast blends to lighter single origins. Once intertwined, the coffee and churros oat milk deliver a deliciously simple riff on a dirty chai or a cinnamon caramel latte depending on the coffee blend.
“We have a big range of coffees in the office so we can continuously trial our milks with them. The beauty of this new flavour is that it works well with all of them. From the lightest to the darkest roasts, the cinnamon flavour still cuts through,” he says.
“When you add Cheeky Oat to coffee, it brings out the caramel sweetness of the beans. The barista can have a bit of fun matching the oat milk with different blends to coax out different flavour notes.”
The Minor Figures team recommend serving Cheeky Oat Churros as an iced latte, but there’s a huge range of signature drink creations just waiting to be masterminded by inventive baristas. According to Henry, one of the benefits of the flavoured milk is that café owners don’t have to buy additional syrups to create a churros latte.
“The trend among Gen Z and Millennials for creative drinks is unrelenting and there’s a hunger for newness. We wanted to introduce a product that not only gave our wholesale partners a simple option to concoct new drinks but also offered value,” he says.
“What’s more, we wanted to create a product that was easy to work with. Not all oat milks are straightforward to texture, but Cheeky Oat steams well and will deliver a silky result just like our other oat milks.”
While the Minor Figures team can’t get enough of Cheeky Churros as an iced coffee, they say it tastes just as good as a warm cinnamon-spiced latte – just the kind of cosy drink Australians crave when the temperature drops and winter takes hold.
“Every time I go into the office someone’s drinking it as an iced latte. Soon we’re going to have to introduce some sort of limit otherwise we’re going to run ourselves out of stock,” he says. “We’re working on some exciting collaborations too. Keep an eye on our social feeds as we start to show up where you least expect it.”
The new flavour was launched in Woolworths stores across Australia in May 2025 and is available now for Minor Figures wholesale partners. Henry says the feedback from café partners so far has been overwhelmingly positive and that interested parties can get in touch to sample Cheeky Oat at their venue.
“Everyone is very intrigued by it and then they taste it and they’re like ‘hang on, this is different’. As soon as you crack open the seal, the smell of cinnamon hits you and you can’t help but be drawn in,” says Henry.
“There are a lot of products that smell great but don’t deliver the flavour – what’s great about Cheeky Oat Churros is that it doesn’t disappoint. The way it’s been formulated means it really holds its flavour.”
This focus on delivering exceptional products has been part of the major changes that have taken place at Minor Figures Australia over the past year. After being taken over by family-owned Slades Beverages in Victoria, the company has localised its production.
“We have always used Australian oats, but now they’re processed here in Australia too. Our oat base is processed just 15 minutes from our production facility in Ballarat and we source most of our oats from regional Victoria too,” says Henry.
“We’re really proud to be producing our product in a sustainable way and keeping local business alive.”
All of Minor Figures’ products are made with at least 97 per cent Australian ingredients, including the new churros flavour. What’s more, Cheeky Oat has less sugar than most of the other flavoured alternative milks in the market.
“In the plant-based space, the average chocolate milk has around seven grams of sugar per serve and vanilla is around six, whereas Cheeky Oat only has five,” he says.
“As it stacks up, it’s actually quite low compared to other options, but it’s surprising as when tasting it you’re blown away by the flavour.”
While Minor Figures has plenty of competition from other alt-milk brands, Henry is confident it has a unique offering for café owners across Australia.
“We’re not one of the big guys: we’re an independent business, like a lot of the cafés and roasters we partner with. We love our local communities and we love coffee. We want to support businesses and see them thrive,” he says.
“Our products let the coffee shine, we are the Minor Figure in the cup. This allows our customers to express who they are, rather than tasting like every other café. Now they can take being unique a step further, with a Cheeky Oat.”
For more information, visit au.minorfigures.com
This article appears in the June 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
